eSports
Acer and Envy Gaming Announce First Predator Training Day to Celebrate PC Gamers
Partnership’s first online community event features fan and professional tournaments, sweepstakes, swag drops and more
Acer, an industry leader in gaming hardware and Envy Gaming, one of the most winning Esports organizations worldwide, will host Predator Training Day for esports fans and competitors on Saturday, June 26th from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. PT. It features a full day of livestreamed play, giveaways, special guests, new swag and hot deals, as well as activities to compete and earn prizes leading up to the event. Highlights include fan and content creator tournaments and the Ultimate Sweepstakes awarding participants popular Predator gaming systems and accessories as well as Dallas Empire x Predator branded swag.
“Our Predator lineup of gaming solutions has grown to become a premier brand within the esports world and supporting this community is a top priority for us. It’s our goal to support players of all levels with the experiences and tools they need to compete and exceed their potential,” said Richard Black, vice president of marketing, Acer America. “We look forward to growing Predator Training Day in its scope and will continue to
encourage and benefit the esports community in fresh and new ways.”
“We’re thrilled to partner with Acer to give aspiring gamers the training and challenges required to increase their competitive skills and gaming acumen,” said Shay Butler, Envy Gaming vice president of sales and marketing. “Our partnership continues to grow and activate in ways that are action-packed, fun-filled and honor our fans and the gaming and esports community.”
Turbopolsa Summer Circuit
The Turbopolsa Summer Circuit invites esports enthusiasts to compete in a 2v2 double elimination, best of three Rocket League tournament. The winning team of two players will each earn a powerful, award-winning Predator Triton 300 SE gaming laptop. The tournament begins at 11 a.m. PT on Friday, June 25. The most-winning Rocket League player of all time, @Turbopolsa, will host the finals livestream as a showmatch on twitch.com/teamenvy starting at 4 p.m. PT on Saturday, June 26.
The Predator Cup
In addition, The Predator Cup, a Rocket League 2v2 tournament will showcase 16 of the world’s leading Rocket League content creators and streamers competing in a double elimination, best of three format, to win a $20,000 prize allocated among the top 3 winners (First: $12,000; Second: $5,500 and Third: $2,500). The Predator Cup (The @Predator_USA Cup) will be broadcast live starting at noon PT on June 26 as http://twitchtv/teamenvy.
Ultimate Sweepstakes
The Ultimate Sweepstakes offers those 18 and older in the United States the chance to win a powerful gaming
setup comprised of an acclaimed and highly rated Predator Orion 3000 gaming rig and a Predator XB3 monitor. There will also be opportunities for gamers to win a Predator XB3 monitor, a gaming accessory bundle that includes a Predator Cestus 350 mouse, Predator Aethon 300 keyboard, Predator Rolltop Jr. backpack and
Predator-branded mousepad as well as chances to win exclusive Dallas Empire x Predator co-branded swag.
To enter and for more information on the sweepstakes, follow the following social channels where sweepstakes opportunities will be launched on June 16 and run until June 26, closing at midnight PT; @Predator_USA, @DallasEmpire, @DallasFuel and @Envy on Twitter and @PredatorGamingUSA, @TheDallasEmpire and @DallasFuel on Instagram. Winners will be announced on these social channels.
Sweet Deals & Discounts
Throughout Predator Training Day on June 26, there will be excellent deals and discounts available on a variety of Predator-branded gaming accessories and bundles, such as a free Predator Cestus 310 mouse and Predator Galea 310 headset with the purchase of a Predator Helios 300 gaming laptop. Acer’s gaming ecosystem in North America currently includes gaming hardware (gaming PCs and gaming accessories), tournaments (Predator League) and a social platform (PLANET9).
To register and learn more details on Predator Training Day activities and opportunities, go to https://www.acer.com/ac/en/US/content/training-room.
eSports
CAPCOM’S STREET FIGHTERTM 6 GOING TO COLLEGE THIS FALL
- CSMG will create and operate College Street FighterTM Tour in North America for the 2024-25 academic year
- College conference Street Fighter 6 champions will punch their ticket to the national Collegiate Esports Commissioner’s Cup (CECC) & May Madness in 2025
eSports
R&D rethink needed for sportsbooks to harness esports’ power
Esports betting is still grappling with a perception problem amongst operators. Despite the leaps and bounds in product development made by suppliers – particularly in the last two years – esports hasn’t shaken off the image built in the late 2010s.
Our good friend, Oliver Niner, Head of Sales at PandaScore, has been kind to share the below article with us.
There’s scepticism around esports betting’s value, how well it can actually perform and what’s needed to make it appeal to bettors. A big part of that comes down to perception, which shapes the research and development (R&D) choices made by each operator.
Self-fulfilling prophecy?
Operators who have put the research and development (R&D) resources into esports are seeing excellent growth, while others are still treating it like part of a long tail. The lack of a uniform approach to esports often translates into hesitancy to be bullish and invest in esports.
Whereas in the United States, post-PASPA sports betting has exploded and operators are seeking to capture as much territory and market share as possible because in most cases, you switch the lights on and the money comes in. It’s, of course, good business sense to take opportunities like this – you can apply the same templates used elsewhere on an incredibly lucrative market.
This kind of approach has been attempted for esports and hasn’t found the same success. Granted, the legislation for betting on esports has been somewhat slower than that of sports betting and iGaming.
However, bullish operators have acknowledged the fact that esports hasn’t found the same success in regulated states and asked what can be done differently, while for others, esports has been thrown into the too-hard basket or relegated to the bargain bucket.
For the latter, the fate of the esports vertical becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy – especially if an operator already using a budget esports product that throttles its very growth.
It takes two to tango
When esports is discussed in broader betting circles, you’ll often hear different versions of the same talking point: the problem with esports is no one is doing it well, it doesn’t innovate.
This argument is a case of the pot calling the kettle black. Esports is a driver of innovation, and it is sportsbook R&D that is holding it back.
Multiple suppliers on the market are investing significant resources into R&D, and bullish operators are leveraging these product innovations to acquire new customers and create engagements made for the internet age.
There are understandable reasons why sports betting doesn’t innovate. It’s largely because operators focus on acquisition, entering new territories and spending money on data rights. But the actual R&D on sportsbook products is left lacking, with ever-increasing cost-per-acquisition (CPA) numbers a clear symptom of this.
It means that if an operator does decide to use or acquire an esports specialist supplier but does little to cater its product and attempts to just lay the sports betting template over the top, of course performance will be throttled.
It’s like putting a Ferrari engine in a Prius – no offence to Toyota or Prius owners.
The same problem exists on the platform supplier front. Platforms are understandably focused on compliance and getting customers live, not necessarily improving models or their products.
Even the idea that if you just acquire an innovative company the problem is solved or you have found the solution, doesn’t hold water. In many cases, the company is acquired and plenty of noise is made about it, but there’s little organisational investment in R&D afterwards.
It’s not just in esports
These problems extend to customer acquisition and marketing for most emerging markets, not just esports. There’s a rush to use the same old playbook in newer sectors because it’s easy.
The fantasy vs. house sector in the US is already experiencing an acquisition arms race. As analyst Dustin Gouker points out, deposit match bonuses for new users on fantasy vs house products have jumped from $100 to as high as $500 in some places.
This is the same race that played out in sports betting and despite the costs, there’s little effort from most operators to try something different. There’s less work when you just put the same acquisition template on an emerging sector and call it a day. This seems to be an accepted practice in the industry, for better or for worse.
Esports betting success requires ongoing dialogue
Rather than attempting to wedge esports into hegemonic sportsbook approaches, sportsbooks need to take a completely unique approach.
The fact is the betting sector has barely scratched the surface – communities of esports fans are still dormant. Canadian operator Rivalry has built a successful, esports-first business by embracing the ever-changing internet culture that esports inhabits. French esports organisation Karmine Corp recently sold out a 30,000-person stadium for an event with no prize money up for grabs.
Innovative products developed on the supplier side like microbetting and betbuilders are only half of the equation.
Maximising esports revenues requires institutional investment, ongoing R&D and collaboration between suppliers and operators to create products and experiences. This includes having staff on the operator side that can drive and push the product further, and crucially, rethinking current sportsbook strategies and practices.
Building experiences for betting’s greatest emerging market – one that caters to your future core audience – takes investment, innovation and a willingness to experiment. If the industry wants to make the most of the Millennial and Gen Z audience that will become its primary customers, investment into R&D and close collaboration between suppliers and operators is needed. Many hands makes light work.
eSports
North Star Network Acquires Um Dois Esportes
North Star Network has acquired Um Dois Esportes, a sports coverage and analysis site created from the merger of Gazeta Do Povo and Tribuna do Paraná in 2020.
Julien Josset, co-founder of North Star Network, said: “Thank you to the team at GRPCOM for their faith in us to take the brand forward. Um Dois Esportes is an established and renowned site in Paraná State, and we’re excited about the challenge of developing this asset.
“We’re happy to maintain the collaboration with the existing editorial team, and look forward to working with them, bringing our unique NSN approach, to take UDE forward.”
NSN’s signing of Um Dois Esportes is the media house’s fourth acquisition of 2024, following the recent deals to purchase UK-based SportsMole and MrFixitsTips, as well as Chilean site AlAireLibre, which was announced in March.
The latest addition to the North Star media portfolio joins existing assets including Top Mercato, Afrik-Foot, and Vringe. The Paris-based company already oversees a significant Brazilian operation, delivering over 6 million sessions per month, from the likes of Trivela, Premier League Brasil and Lakers Brasil.
NSN will retain Curitiba-based journalists from the Um Dois Esportes legacy team to maintain the asset’s unique tone and popular coverage of the Paraná sports scene across site and social.
Rafael Mello, Director of GRPCOM, said: “We were surprised by the interest, and initially had no intention of selling Um Dois, but as the conversations evolved, we realised this was a serious group with good intentions. We were very happy to see our project being valued by a large international group and going global, demonstrating the quality of the content we produced.
“We’re also proud that North Star inherited our journalists, who are truly responsible for the success of the product we offer readers every day.”
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